Gary Gardner
In Memoriam
Theater Professor Gary Gardner, who spent 40 years teaching at UCLA and directing wildly successful student musical productions that entertained the entire campus, died June 15, 2013, of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 69.
An extraordinary man of the theater, Gardner excelled as a playwright, actor, director of both musicals and straight plays, a lyricist for Broadway and cabaret, and a teacher, scholar and theater historian.
He was a particularly gifted, highly popular teacher in two areas: the history of the American musical, a course which he created in 1997, and playwriting. He influenced hundreds of budding playwrights. Among his students were Shane Black, Nancy Cartwright, Susan Egan, Diane Frolov, Mariska Hargitay, Tom Shumacher, Ed Solomon, Michael Stuhlbarg and Tim Robbins.
A devoted Midwesterner, Gardner was born on March 24, 1944, graduated from Danville High School in Danville, Ill., and earned a B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1966. Shortly thereafter, he came to Los Angeles and attended the College of Fine Arts at UCLA where he earned an M.F.A. in playwriting in 1968. In the same year, he was awarded the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for his play, “August and Ice Cream.” The play was produced in Los Angeles and garnered two Drama-Logue Awards for best actor and best ensemble cast.
In 1972, Gardner was awarded a Ph.D from the University of Illinois, but quickly returned to UCLA in 1973 to become an assistant professor in the Theater Department. He never left UCLA again and would joyfully tell people that he began his teaching career at the tender age of 28.
At UCLA, Gardner directed students in sold-out musical productions that included “She Loves Me,” “Carousel,” “Company,” “A Chorus Line,” “Urinetown,” “Anything Goes” and “Is There Life After High School?” He also directed very successful runs of “My Fair Lady” and “Peter Pan” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Light Opera and wrote original lyrics for “Hollywood Live!” which played at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Gardner’s presence at UCLA and the extraordinary popularity of his course on the history of the American musical theater convinced the estate of musical theater giant Ray Bolger (Scarecrow in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”) to launch The Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program, which trains UCLA students in acting, singing and dance. Gardner chaired the program since its inception.
As an actor, Gardner performed at several Equity waiver theaters throughout Los Angeles, including Buffalo Nights Theater, founded by UCLA graduates; The Actors Gang, founded by Tim Robbins; the CAST Theatre; and the 21st Street Theatre. He performed in “West Side Story” for the UCLA Music Department. He also gave freely of his enormous talent and performed in 17 award-winning student films, some of which have played on Showtime and PBS.
Image and Obituary Credits: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/in-memoriam–gary-gardner—-teacher–playwright-and-scholar
